Biotor to set up Rs 2K crore bio-refinery for castor oil

Plans IPO to raise fund.

As part of its efforts to scale up its capacity to meet the growing demand of castor oil and its derivative products, Biotor Industries Limited, formerly known as Jayant Oils and Derivatives Limited, has set the ball rolling for setting up a bio-refinery for castor oil and derivatives in Gujarat. The company claims that the proposed bio-refinery would be the first in India.

Biotor, a leading manufacturer and exporter of castor derivatives, has identified Vilayat near Bharuch for the proposed greenfield project.

"The company plans to pump in Rs 2000 crore for the project, which will use castor and castor oil as main raw materials," a senior company official said on the sidelines of recently concluded Global Castor Conference 2010 in Ahmedabad.

The company intends to partly fund the project by initial public offer (IPO). Around 300 acres of land has been acquired by the company in Bharuch, where it intends to set up a Special Economic Zone. The new refinery would house bio-fertiliser producting unit, biogas plant, seed crushing and sebacic acid unit as well as waste treatment plant.

The refinery would produce castor oil, de-oiled cakes, fertilizers and variants of sebacic acid.

"We have received environment clearance from the state government and the work on the project is likely to start by the end of this year," the company official said, adding, "The refinery will use bio-degradable materials."

The bio-refinery project is scheduled to be completed within three years from the commissioning of plant works. The company estimates its castor requirement to go up to 2.70 lakh tonnes per annum after the refinery is operational.

In order to meet its castor requirement, the company has initiated contract farming. As on 2008-90, Biotor brought 100,000 acres under contract farming, of which as much as 65,000 acres were in Maharashtra. It now plans expand its network of contact farming in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.